Alex English – A Lesson in English
Alex English (born January 5, 1954 in Columbia, South Carolina) is a retired American basketball player who played at the forward position. He played at the University of South Carolina and most notably with the National Basketball Association’s Denver Nuggets. He averaged 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during his NBA career. He was named to seven NBA All-Star teams, his #2 jersey was retired by the Nuggets, and he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. English scored more points in the decade of the 1980s than any other NBA player. English spent the majority of his career with the Nuggets, but also played briefly with the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks. He was drafted in 1976 by the Bucks, and was part of a rookie class that includes fellow Hall of Famer Robert Parish. Most of his time in Milwaukee was spent as a back-up. However, it wasn’t until he was sent to Indiana in 1978 that he began his reputation as a scorer, averaging 16 points there before being traded to Denver. English was traded to the Nuggets midway through the 1979-80 season for George McGinnis, a former Pacers star from their ABA days. It turned out to be one of the most one-sided trades in NBA history; McGinnis was out of the league by 1982. English’s career ended in 1991, with a short stint for the Dallas Mavericks, where he once again played back-up, averaging ten points a game. English’s style has been described as smooth and elegant. Not possessing the physical …
